PROMOTING MUSIC EDUCATION SINCE 1933
Dallas Brass will not only be performing, but also
presenting two sessions:
- Brass Fundamentals
-The Importance of Small Ensembles
Friday Schedule
Saturday Schedule
String Headliner
Nicole Melrose
The moment Nicole Boutros Melrose touched the violin at 11 years of age, a ringing sound of hope was produced. Coming from a background of socio-economic hardship and experiencing the struggles of a first generation Arab-American, the violin provided Nicole with a way to express herself and hope for a bright future. At the age of 15, she knew she wanted to start a program for children like herself who could not afford access to high-quality string programming. In 2013 she started her first program with historically underserved students in East Dallas. What started as a small class with a few crowdfunded violins became a large and thriving program impacting over 300 families, with 100% of auditioning program graduates admitted into Magnet Arts and Talented and Gifted Academies. Nicole’s programs have become well-known for innovative teaching methods and pedagogy, meaningful collaborations and community partnerships, culturally responsive and engaging repertoire, and powerful results.
Nicole is a visionary innovator, groundbreaking string educator, clinician, composer, researcher, speaker, and performing violinist. She created StringRise so that students and educators far and wide can be impacted by the transformational power of innovative string methodology, curriculum, workshops, and products. She believes beginning strings is the key to the thriving, growing, and equitable future of string education. Nicole is an expert in beginning string pedagogy, an innovative composer, engaging speaker, and visionary product developer working to catalyze equity in music education through the StringRise Fellowship and Scholars program.
In addition to leading StringRise, Nicole is a violinist who performs with symphony orchestras across the United States, and plays with diverse musical styles ranging from bluegrass, to jazz, to hip-hop. Nicole was the first in her family to graduate from college, with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education from Southern Nazarene University and a Masters in Social Justice from Southern Methodist University. She is a recipient of the B’nai B’rith Award for her commitment to ethics, and the Karis Stahl Fadely award for her intercultural work.
Nicole is very active in the string education community - she is a member of the Suzuki Association of America, Texas Orchestra Directors Association, Texas Music Educator’s Association, and serves on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee of the American String Teachers Association (ASTA). She presents at conferences, universities, and school districts around the United States. You can read more about Nicole’s personal story and work featured in the The Dallas Morning News HERE.
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String Sessions
Strings 101
Strings 101 presented by D’Addario Orchestral is for every string teacher teaching all levels of orchestra. In this clinic we will discuss how to best choose strings for your students to get the most effective and powerful sound possible in your classroom. We will cover the difference in string cores, how to best care for strings to create longevity, how often to change strings, as well as get a sneak peek into how strings are made, and the history and evolution of the modern string. All attendees will have the opportunity for Q&A, and a chance to test out accessories that create success in the string classroom.
Kaplan in the Classroom
Join us for an engaging deep dive into the entire line of D’Addario Kaplan Orchestral Strings. Participants will get the opportunity to try out new Kaplan Strings in partnership with The Horn Doctor and a reading session provided by Randall Standridge Music. The first half of the session will be about learning what Kaplan has to offer your classroom, and the second half will be a hands-on opportunity to try the strings within an ensemble. All participants will walk away feeling energized about how Kaplan can bring color and projection to your orchestra classroom.
Performance Anxiety Solutions for the String Classroom
Building on the fundamentals of the trauma informed presentation, we will hone in on the nervous system and how to regulate through performance anxiety. Attendees will gain deeper insights into their own nervous system, equipping them with tools and calming strategies to support their students. The core focus will be on somatic release techniques, and participants are encouraged to bring their instruments for interactive participation. Attendees will walk away with a regulation toolbox that will aid students through their excitement and fears around performance.
Creating Thriving Title 1 Orchestra Programs
In this clinic we will focus on strategies to build thriving orchestra programs from the elementary to high school level. We will discuss engaging strategies to “hook” students that make them eager to participate in orchestra. Strategies will include utilizing student leadership, parents, and
concerts to recruit students, and choosing music that “wows”. A large portion of time will be spent on retention strategies that keep students tapped into their love music and the community of music-making. Built into the presentation will be a few slides that showcase products through the lens of retention that support desired outcomes in playing levels that contribute to student success. We will also focus on some specific strategies for working with Title 1 students,
culturally engaging music, and parental involvement geared towards increasing retention and community involvement.
Choral Headliner
John Wayman
Dr. John Wayman is the Associate Director of Choral Activities, Associate Professor, and Area Coordinator for Music Education at the University of Texas at Arlington. He conducts the University Singers and mentors future choral music educators. Dr. Wayman is in high demand as a conductor, adjudicator, and clinician and has served as a guest conductor and adjudicator for numerous state and regional events.
He has presented clinics at state, national, and international conferences on choral pedagogy for the maturing adolescent voice, practical programming, and rehearsal strategies for choral music educators. His research focuses primarily on the changing male voice and music teacher preparation. Dr. Wayman has presented at state conferences such as Alaska MEA, Georgia MEA, Louisiana MEA, New Mexico MEA, Oklahoma ACDA, Tennessee MEA, and Texas MEA; national organizations including the National Association for Music Education, American Choral Directors Association, Society for Research in Music Education, Society of Music Teacher Educators, and Southwestern American Choral Association; and international venues in Greece, Brazil, England, Uganda, China, and, most recently, Scotland and Ireland.
His publications appear in the International Journal of Research in Choral Singing, Journal of Research in Music Education, Teaching Music, Texas Music Educator Research, Missouri Journal of Research in Music Education, Kansas Music Review, Ala Breve: Alabama Music Education Journal, and Georgia Music News. He also serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of the Music Educators Journal.
In 2019, Dr. Wayman was honored with the Sunrise Rotary Professor of the Year Award for the College of Liberal Arts. Above all, he is passionate about teaching and inspiring all who love to sing.
General Music Headliner
Stephen Neely
Stephen Neely, PhD, Carnegie Mellon University Milton and Cynthia Friedman Associate Professor of Music, Director of Graduate Studies, and Director of the Carnegie Mellon Marta Sanchez Dalcroze Training Center. He is a teacher, conductor, theorist, writer, and clinician who lectures and presents workshops around the globe in the fields of design, music, architecture, and pedagogy. He holds the Dalcroze License and is a past President of the Dalcroze Society of America.
He teaches Dalcroze Eurhythmics and Dalcroze Pedagogy for the School of Music, having taught every BFA in Music Performance and Composition at CMU since 1999. He taught Dalcroze Eurhythmics and directed the Opera Workshop at Pittsburgh's High School for the Creative and Performing Arts for 23 years (1994–2018), served as Chorusmaster for Opera Theater of Pittsburgh from 1999–2010, was a featured soloist as the Hangman in Leonardo Balada’s early operas Hangman, Hangman and the world premiere of The Town of Greed for the Naxos label, and was a featured speaker at TEDxCMU 2012.
In addition to his duties in the School of Music, Dr. Neely is Eurhythmics faculty for the Houston Grand Opera Butler Studio Artists, Co-Chair of the International Conference of Dalcroze Studies, and co-founder and co-host of the Virtual Dalcroze Meet-up.
Dr. Neely coined the term Soma Literacy in Soma Literate Design–recentering the interstiality of experience at the Carnegie Mellon School of Design in 2019 and continues his research on the intersections between music, design, the body, esthetics, performance, and experience.
"My research focuses on the physical nature of experience and the reflections of musical gestures in everyday interactions—that is, the ways in which our feeling bodies are necessary components of musical participation and how that understanding presents artful potential in any experience.”
